It’s doubtful McDaniel would ever, as he’s requested, be declared the rightful winner of the GOP primary.

On the evening of Oct. 15 last year, Chris McDaniel told me he would spend the next evening in a secluded arbor in his backyard, praying and meditating whether to run for U.S. Senate.

He ran — boy howdy, did he run. But he lost. And a judge on Friday threw out his lawsuit to try to overturn that loss.

McDaniel’s lawyers said he’ll be spending this long holiday weekend contemplating whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court. My guess is, he’ll be spending some time in that spot in his backyard.

Here’s his conundrum: For more than nine weeks, he’s railed that the primary election was stolen, that the election system and much of the state’s GOP leadership is as crooked and spineless as a barrel of snakes and that he would not give up and “never, never, never, never” give in, quoting Winston Churchill. He vowed to #FightChrisFight even if it harelips the baby and ends his political career.

He said the case is not about him or his political career, but about the integrity of the Republican primary and state election system.

Well, this appears to be his watershed, crossroads, Rubicon or, some would say, shark to jump.

He can appeal the special circuit judge’s ruling that he filed his challenge too late to the state Supreme Court. If successful, the high court would likely kick it back down and order a long-awaited trial.

And that trial would take, at best, weeks and more likely months, almost assuredly running beyond the Nov. 4 general election, where Cochran is already on the ballot as the Republican nominee.

It’s doubtful McDaniel would ever, as he’s requested, be declared the rightful winner of the GOP primary. More likely, “success” would mean two more elections ordered after the Nov. 4 general — another Republican primary, then another general election.

McDaniel does not appear to have a smoking gun to overturn the June 24 runoff. Instead, the court would have to go through thousands of ballots and other records, from at least 46 counties, and hear arguments over funky-looking jots and tittles on poll books and ballots.

Such an in-depth post mortem might be good for cleaning up and modernizing Mississippi’s elections. It already has been, most likely.

But it probably wouldn’t be so good for McDaniel’s political future. And if, as quite a few legal experts predict, he would be unsuccessful in the end, it could likely tank the ambitious young state senator’s larger political ambitions. He would be that guy — the one who kept tilting at windmills and just didn’t know when to give up.

And McDaniel would have spent months focused on trying to prove leaders of his own party are a bunch of weasels and Mississippi elections are crooked and sleazy (when, it should be noted, he has served as chairman of Elections in the state Senate since 2011 without previously sounding such an alarm).

That would be more time not spent trying to broaden his base for a future, say 2015, statewide office campaign.

But let it never, never, never be said McDaniel is one to shy from a fight. And, he’s pointed out, there’s an issue larger than his political fortune at stake.

So, McDaniel has some tough issues to mull in his arbor, or wherever he mulls them.

Maybe he should remember the rest of Churchill’s admonition on never, never, never giving in: “except to convictions of honor and good sense.”